Oil service firm Archer will hire more people in Norway amid rising demand, the Oslo-listed company said on Aug. 14.

Archer, which provides teams to operate oil platforms and drilling rigs, reported underlying second-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $18 million, up from $15.7 million a year ago.

"The outlook for oil services has improved in the quarter, and we are seeing improvements within most of our divisions. We expect moderate activity increase and improved financial results during the second half of 2018," the company said.

Archer added it would increase its Norwegian headcount by about 30% to 2,000 by the end of the year, partly as a result of winning contracts from oil firm Equinor to provide drilling services at four additional platforms.

The company, however, said it's been discussing workforce reduction with labor unions in Argentina, where its revenues were hit by the peso's depreciation against the U.S. dollar.